US President Donald Trump says he will move matches at the 2026 World Cup from any cities he thinks are unsafe.
Eleven US cities are scheduled to host matches at next summer’s 48-team tournament, which will be co-hosted by Canada and Mexico.
The US will host 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the final.
World governing body Fifa is in charge of organising the tournament and selecting host cities, and any changes now – or at a later stage – would face logistical challenges.
It is also unclear whether Trump has the authority to make such changes, though he does have a close working relationship with its president Gianni Infantino and is chair of the World Cup taskforce.
“It will be safe for the World Cup,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “If I think it isn’t safe, we’ll move it into a different city.”
The 11 host cities in the US are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.
Trump was asked specifically about matches in the Democratic-run cities of Seattle and San Francisco. Both are due to host six games.
He also mentioned Los Angeles – another Democratic stronghold, which will host the 2028 Olympics and eight matches next year.
“If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, but for the World Cup in particular, because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it to go. We’ll move it around a little bit,” he said.
Trump has made tackling crime a central part of his agenda. Last month, he deployed National Guard troops and federal officers into Washington DC, despite figures showing a fall in crime since it spiked in 2023.
He said he planned to send troops into Memphis and Chicago too.
In June, he ordered 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.
The draw for the group stage of the World Cup is scheduled for 5 December in Washington DC.
The tournament will run from 11 June to 19 July.
This is not the first time Trump has spoken about the World Cup.
In May, he said the opportunity for Russia to play at the tournament could be an “incentive” to end the war in Ukraine.
That is despite the Russian national football team being banned from international competition by Fifa and Uefa since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and qualification for the World Cup having already started.
In March, he claimed the political and economic tensions between the US and co-hosts Canada and Mexico would be good for the tournament.
That came after he imposed tariffs – taxes charged on goods imported from other countries – on the US’ two neighbours.-BBC
